White House chef becomes NBC senior food analyst

NBC News on Wednesday announced the appointment of a senior food analyst. This is particularly interesting because of who they chose: Sam Kass, who was President Obama’s senior advisor for nutrition policy and executive director for First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign. Kass was also a White House chef.

Food television has come a long way since the days when Julia Child dropped chickens on the floor of the PBS studio. And not just with the Food Network and Anthony Bourdain, but with an increased interest in nutrition and food policy — which reflects not only the popularity of cooking and dining out, but the growing problems with our food chain.

For six years, Kass was the Obamas’ personal chef, a relationship that started in Chicago, when the Obamas hired him to cook for the family before Obama became president. The chef’s career has revolved around healthful eating, sustainable food and nutrition — Kass helped plant the White House vegetable garden — and his move into the media signals a continued focus on these issues.

According to a release from NBC, Kass will cover topics including healthful eating, emerging food trends and policy. He will report for all platforms of NBC News, including the “Today” show, “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt,” and Today Food, where he will write a monthly digital column.

That a chef, with a long history of cooking for a family with kids — albeit the president’s family — will now be covering food on such a large public scale is perhaps a good sign. Maybe he’ll show us all how to make our own victory gardens.

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